The Half-Bloods: The Lightning Thief
by Uzumaki Ricky
Summary: When Percy came to camp, he got more friends than just Annabeth. One with great strength, but reckless. The other a fierce survivor and nature lover. How will these two change the way the pendulum of fate swings?


**In a world where manga ends, fanfiction lives on forever.**

_**That scientist from Aqua Teen Hunger Force popped into my head.**_

**Real nice, phantom. Not to mention true. But we're not doing a fic on a manga in this. And Spyrofan... why am I both agreeing AND not surprised?**

**Pardon me for trying to make this interesting to the readers too.**

_**My mind is where hope goes to die.**_

**Your mind Connecticut?**

**Forgiven. But I think it did the trick. And I disagree there. You have VERY good ideas, Spyrofan. Also... real nice.**

_**I am just in a rut. Rewriting Honest Curse and I barely have 700 words. Couple it with being stuck in a roach motel makes you really hard pressed, phantom.**_

**I feel your pain, Spyrofan. And sorry about your situation. Shall we start the chapter before things get too depressing?**

_**Go ahead.**_

**None of us own anything except any OCs mentioned. If we did, maybe the OCs would be canon characters.**

**I own something.**

**Copies of the books?**

**Nope, my dementia.**

**Oh. And I own mine. And so... fade to black and the chapter begins.**

**The Half-Bloods: The Lightning Thief**

**Chapter 1: I Meet a Good Horse and a Bad Bull**

It was a bright, sunny, and hot day out in the middle of the afternoon, just after all of the schools had gotten out for the day. Not surprising, since it was in Kentucky in the summer time. Most of the kids were excited to be out of school. But two of them, one obviously of Hispanic heritage and the other of at least some Caucasian heritage, who were just out at the entrance of the school saying their goodbyes, weren't. Again, not surprising, since one of them was moving today.

The lighter-skinned of the two was a bit taller than the other, as well as slimmer and looked fit for running for a child of about nine-years-old. He also had a messy mop of brown hair and a pair of light green eyes. The other boy was a bit on the short side for his age, but made up for it with feel about him that, even though he was only nine like the first boy, just made you feel as though he was stronger than he looked. He had black hair reminiscent to the color of a Blackbird jet, which looked brushed straight but still a bit wild because of how long it was, and electric blue eyes that had a shaky confidence and a slight spark of mischief in them. Both had backpacks on their backs, but one looked more full than the other.

"Do you really have to go, Mikey?" The lighter-skinned boy asked, hoping the answer would be no.

Michael Morales Maverick, or Mike to the darker-skinned boy's friends and Mikey to his family and best friends, sighed. His stepfather had gotten transferred again, due to being in the military, so his family was moving out towards New York. The man had gone ahead of them to get their new home ready for all of them, but Mike didn't want to leave. Give him country living or living in a regular town any day, and you'd be hard-pressed to make him leave. Being that close to a big city just wasn't his scene.

It was part of why Mike had asked his stepfather to at least let them drive there instead of flying on a plane. If there were two things Michael hated, it was city-living and flying. Plus, getting to delay having to leave his friend behind and delay living closer to a big city certainly didn't hurt. "Sorry, buddy, but I do. I wish I didn't, though. I'm really gonna miss you, Bobby."

"Will you write?" Bobby asked, because this was taking place back in the days when pen pals actually existed and social networks hadn't tried to dominate every facate of mortal interaction.

"Sure! And, someday, we'll meet up again!" Mike said reassuringly. He then pulled something out of his backpack. "Here, something to remember me by."

"Really? You sure?" Bobby asked, not taking the offering.

"Yeah. Besides, I can always get another. And without me around to give you courage, you're going to need something to help you get your own." Mike insisted.

Bobby smiled, then accepted the gift. "Thanks. And I think I have something for you too." He reached into his own backpack and took out something wrapped in paper before putting it in Mike's hands. "Something I made in Art class. I was going to give it to Dad, but I can make him another one later."

Mike unwrapped it and saw a handmade necklace made from yarn and decorated with a jade stone. Or maybe just a green-painted rock. On the stone were two white angel wings painted on. "Thanks, but, if this is for your dad, you should give it to him."

"I know, but, since this is the last time I'll see you, this is more important right now." Bobby insisted.

Mike looked at Bobby, still unsure. "You sure?"

"I'm sure. Please take it, Mikey." Bobby told his best friend.

Mike smiled and accepted the offering before putting the necklace on. "Thanks, bud!" There was a car horn heard, making him look to the school's parking lot as he tucked it under his shirt. "Looks like my ride's here."

Bobby nodded, understanding. "Take care of yourself, Mikey! And try to stay out of trouble!"

Mike was already heading towards the parking lot. But, when he heard the last part Bobby said, he smirked and looked back over his shoulder towards his best friend. "No promises!"

Mike ran to the car his mother drove and saw the front seat was open. He hopped in, said hi, and closed the door, taking one last look out the window at the school he'd never go back to and the friend he wouldn't see again for who knew how long. There was one more thing he didn't expect to see. A tall man walking up behind Bobby, too tall to be normal and definitely not a teacher. Mike didn't know every teacher here, but he was positive that none of them had only one eye.

"Mom, who's that?" He asked, pointing to the man, who was looking at him the entire time instead of Bobby. That one-eyed stare was creepy, especially given how it wasn't located where any eye should be.

Mike's mother, Isabelle Maria Maverick, saw the new man and paled, but, instead of answering, she stepped on the gas and drove away quickly. None of Mike's questions or pleads to go get Bobby slowed her down. After a while he stopped asking, but that was the time he started noticing something else. She had driven away from their old house, where they still had to pick up the last of their stuff, away from the town, in fact, yet none of their remaining stuff was in the car. Also, his little brother hadn't said a word.

"Michael," His mom finally spoke up. "That man was after you. Bobby should be safe, he wanted you. And he's not the only one." Mike started to shake, it wasn't every day your mom told you that strangers were pursuing you. "I know a place where none of them can get you. I'm taking you there now."

"What about you guys?" Mike asked worriedly. And he knew that his mom wasn't joking, since she only called him "Michael" instead of "Mikey" or "Mike" when she was either irritated, angry or serious.

"We have to go to a different kind of safe place. We're not allowed to go where you're going. Just wait for us and we'll come back." His mother responded.

"No!" He rejected.

"Michael, if there was any way we could all be together, I'd take it in a heartbeat. But, right now, this is where you'll be safest. No matter what, promise me you won't leave without permission. Promise me." She insisted, still not taking her eyes off the road but the young boy felt like she was looking right at him.

Mike sighed, knowing that there was no arguing with his mother when she was like this. "I promise, mom. But who's going to protect you, Jackie, and the old man while I'm gone?"

"I can't tell you his name, and, even if I did, I doubt you'd know how to even say it back, but I can tell you that this person owes me a favor. He'll watch over us until we can meet up with you again." She said reassuringly.

Mike nodded in understanding. As long as his mother could guarantee that she and his little brother would be safe, he'd do what she asked of him. And, just when he was feeling better, the back of the car was crushed by a club appearing out of nowhere.

"What the heck was _that_?" Mike yelled, caught off guard by the impact.

"Mom!" Jackie, Mike's little brother yelled.

"Damn! They're faster than I thought." Their mother said before speeding up, pretending that the words 'speed limit' were part of another language right then.

"Mom, what is after me? You clearly know! Tell me!" Mike all but demanded in a fearful tone.

"Monsters." She claimed. "The kind that don't hide under beds or in closets, but attack in the daytime."

Mike looked shocked and a little angry. "Monsters?! But you told us that monsters weren't real!

"There's more than one type of monster in the world, Michael. And, sadly, some are real. You'll see just how many when you're older." She stated.

"Mom, there's this guy on a motorcycle behind us swinging a stick." Jackie warned, looking out back.

Mike looked behind his seat, but what he saw was different than what his little brother had described. It was that one-eyed man again, running at them on foot, somehow able to keep pace, even if not quite fast enough to overtake the vehicle. And the stick he was waving was actually a studded club big enough to crush a cow's skull.

"I know, dear. I'm going as fast as I can." Their mom said before turning onto a different road, reducing her speed just enough to avoid rolling in the turn. Fortunately, their chaser hadn't anticipated that and ran right into the back of the car, knocking them down for a moment. They drove away before they saw how it react any further.

Mike looked back and saw this, then sighed in relief and turned forward, hoping that this would give them some kind of reprieve. "Mom, can you at _least_ tell me where we're going?"

She said nothing for a moment. "A place where your father can protect you."

Mike gained an extremely angry look on his face. "My father?! Why do we need _that_ bum?! The guy just leaves you, leaving you to raise me alone, and _now_ he's going to help us?!"

"Yes." She said it so simply yet firmly, like that was all there was to say on the subject. "We should be there shortly."

Mike glared in front of him and clenched his fist at the idea of accepting help from the man who abandoned him and his mother. But he decided to grit his teeth and bare it while hoping that she knew for sure that she knew what she was doing. That didn't mean he was suddenly going to be the bum's best friend all of a sudden. In fact, the first thing he intended to do when he saw him was punch him in the stomach before kicking his butt.

They drove at top speed for hours on end, ignoring speed limits and staying on every freeway and long, car-free stretch of road they could find, only stopping when they needed to refuel on gas. They even went off the road sometimes, if they needed to. Several times, they managed to shake the man pursuing them, but he'd always catch back up to them eventually. Mike lost count of they ran from him. How long it took them to get to where they needed to go. Finally, days later, they crossed into New York.

After a few hours of driving after they made it to New York, his mom gave him the map and told him to navigate. She told him that they had to get to Long Island before the man pursuing them caught up again. A few hours later, they made it into a more country area of New York. As far as he could tell, they should have been somewhere out in Long Island by that point.

Then again, Mike could barely read, much less read a map. Not because he was stupid, but because the words and letters seemed to float off the page or switch around whenever he tried to read them. Because of this, they might be somewhere else. His mother soon drove off the road onto a dirt road that went into a forest, but her speed didn't reduce at all, making the drive bumpy now.

Mike felt himself bumping up and down in his seat, even with his seat-belt on. "M-mom, a-a-are y-y-you s-sure i-it's a g-g-good i-i-idea t-to b-be g-going th-this f-f-fast o-on th-th-this r-r-road?"

"It would be a worse idea not to." She told him.

'What's got her so afraid she'd risk a car crash to get away from it?' He asked himself.

Suddenly, Mike heard a crash behind him. Like the sound of a tree being knocked over.

"Oh no, not here!" His mom panicked.

Mike looked at her, surprised to see her panicking. "What do you mean "not here"?! Mom, what's going on?!"

"Just a little bit further!" She said to herself.

"MOM!" He started to yell.

She opened her mouth, but the sound of the back window breaking halted anything she was going to say. "Jackie?!"

Mike looked to his little brother, who was holding his head and crying. It looked like he was more terrified than hurt. Mike reached behind him as far as he could and gripped his little brother's hand gently. "Jackie, look at me!"

Jackie looked, but he still looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Mike put on his strong older brother face then, one he had to use whenever the younger boy had been bullied. Or when he himself had been bullied when he was younger. "We will get through this! At the end of this road is a safe place, and we _will_ get there! Just think of it as a roller coaster, bumpy and fast, but completely safe! Okay?"

Jackie still looked afraid, but he also trusted his big brother. If he said that they'd get through this, then they would. So he nodded his head in response. "O-okay, Mikey!"

Finally their mother came to a stop, after slowing down first. "No time for questions, Michael. You see that arch there?" She pointed out her window.

He looked out his mother's window. Sure enough, atop a hill, right beside a tall pine tree, there was a wooden arch. "Yeah."

"Run for it and get on the other side. Once you do everything will be explained. Run and don't look back, and, more importantly, don't come back on this side." She told him.

"But-"

"No time for questions. I love you, son, and we will see each other again. If you love us, head for that arch now." She told him.

Mike looked at his mother, then at Jackie, a sad, frustrated, and wistful smile on his face. "Be brave for mom and look out for her while I'm gone, okay, Squirt?"

Jackie smiled lightly at his big brother's affectionate, and irritating, nickname for him and nodded. "I will, Mikey!"

Without another word, Mike left the car and started running to the arch. When he was a good five feet away, the car revved up again and his family drove off. He was honestly a bit shocked, thinking they'd wait until he got to this mysterious arch before leaving. Ever increasing footsteps coming his way answered his unasked question. It sounds like a bipedal elephant was coming for him, and, if this one-eyed guy could create this much noise, then Mike had to move as fast as he could.

Anxious, Mike started picking up speed, trying desperately to reach the arch before the one-eyed guy caught up to him. But he stopped dead in his tracks when a large and familiar club slammed onto the ground in front of him. Looking up, he saw that the one-eyed guy had taken a shortcut and cut him off.

"Going somewhere, demigod?" He asked rhetorically. The voice was bizarrely the most normal part of this guy.

Knowing better than to answer, Mike went around the club and kept running. If the big guy wanted to hit him, he'd have to retrieve his weapon first. This would have worked, had the guy not swung his leg and knocked down a tree, causing the fallen tree to block his path.

"What do you _want_ from me?!" Mike yelled.

The one-eyed giant of a man merely smirked and hefted his enormous club. "Your head!"

Mike clenched his fists and got into loose and ready stance, a bit like a street fighter's. If he couldn't run, then he had no choice but to fight. And he was _not_ going to let this thing win and risk it hurting his mom, his little brother, or even his stepfather at some point. "You want my head! Then come and get it, big-ugly!"

One-eyed giant's smirk grew as he raised his club. "I intend to, little Godling!"

Mike charged, pulling back his fist to hit this thing. Knowing he was too small to hit high, he decided to target the leg, hoping he could bring him down, if nothing else. The one-eyed man moved to kick him, but Mike, on sheer reflex, changed course to the other leg before he could change anything and punched the knee, certain that would have a reaction. To his surprise, the sound of bones shattering was heard, and rather loudly at that. The giant roared in pain and dropped his club before falling to his other knee and grabbing his injured one tenderly.

Seeing the monster that had chased him all this distance momentarily helpless, Mike balled his fist and was strongly tempted to attack him further. So, giving into temptation, Mike jumped as high as he could and punched it in it's inner thigh as hard as he could. The sound of bone breaking could be heard again, this time more like a snap, making the beast scream more. 

Mike smirked. "Heh! Not so much fun when the other guy fights back, is it?"

The one-eyed giant glared down at Mike and raised his hand before trying to crush Mike under it. For a moment, it seemed like he'd succeeded. But then, Mike popped out from between two of his fingers "Pop goes the weasel!"

Mike then shot forward and kicked the one-eyed giant's leg out from under him to bring him in closer and punched him hard in the stomach. If Mike could have seen the look on his one-eyed face, he might have laughed. The monster then grabbed him, held him tightly, but not too tight, with just the left hand free, and brought the young boy in front of him, glaring at him. "You little punk! Any last words before I crush you like toothpaste?"

"Yeah, one." Mike said, holding up his hand with a single finger pointing up. "Here!" He then thrust his extended finger into the guy's single eye.

The monster screamed in agony and threw Mike before grabbing his injured one eye. Unfortunately, this sent Mike crashing into a tree. His body ached, but, strangely, it didn't hurt as much as it should have. That had always been one of Mike's strong points, his great ability to take a hit. Even his mother spanking him hurt his pride more than it hurt his body.

'Now's my chance!' He thought, running back to the arch. Mike nearly reached it, but had forgot about the fallen tree. Remembering the damage he was able to inflict on the one-eyed giant, Mike decided to try and lift it.

"Go around!" Someone shouted.

"Huh?" Mike asked, since he couldn't seen anyone. suddenly a lot of arrows flew overheard, aimed at the giant.

"Go around the tree! You don't need to walk through the arch, just be on this side of it!" The same voice told him. It sounded almost grandfatherly, but still young.

"Who the heck are you?" Mike called out, not wanting to obey the orders until he knew for sure that the one giving them wasn't lying.

"It's either me or him, young man!" The voice answered.

Mike looked back towards the monster for a moment. It couldn't get up or see him, so now was a great time to finish it off himself. But, at the same time, he had no idea what this thing could really do. It was obviously strong and fast, but so far that seemed to be the extent of it's abilities. And it definitely intended to harm him, but was the guy on the other side of the tree any better? Then, before Mike could come to a decision on his own, he heard the monster say something that made his blood boil.

"Just wait until I find you, Godling! When I do, I'll break every bone in your body before taking you with me while I track down your family and your little friend! And, once I have them, I'll force you to watch them die before I end you!" The one-eyed giant roared in pain and anger.

Clenching his fists so tightly that he almost drew blood, Mike started walking towards the monster. He was going to beat it to _death_ for saying that. Do what you want to him, but you _never_ mess with his family or his friends! Then, he was suddenly stopped by someone jumping ahead of him and landing. It looked like a man riding a horse, but a closer look showed the man _was_ the horse.

"The heck?!" Mike said.

"What is it with your bloodline wanting to make things difficult? Been that way since I taught your father. Get to the safe zone _now_, Michael." The horse-man told him, taking out a sword while facing the monster.

"How do you know my name?" Mike asked the horse-man

"Your mother told me you'd arrive. Luke, take him!" The horse-man said to someone behind Mike.

"Got it, Chiron!" An older boy said before grabbing Michael from behind and dragging him.

"Hey! Let me go!" Mike tried to escape the grasp of the teenager holding him. No one had ever been able to hold him down for longer than a few seconds.

The teenager known as Luke shook his head. "Sorry, kid! Can't do that!"

"You asked for it!" Mike said before grabbing Luke and throwing him over his body like a martial artist might. Luke had not anticipated that someone almost half his size would be able to do such a thing and could not stop it early. Taking the opportunity, Mike rushed forward to take care of his pursuer himself. But, to his shock, the horse-man just then stabbed the giant with his sword and the one-eyed guy turned into dust.

"What the...? How did you...?" Michael asked, not even able to make a complete sentence due to how shocked he was.

The horseman just looked back at him with a slight smile on his face. "With experience comes wisdom, my boy!"

Mike was confused and surprised. Soon, it all caught up to him as he remembered some things he'd read about in Greek mythology. A giant with one eye in the center of it's face... cyclopes...! Creatures that were half man and half horse... centaurs...!

He and his mom and baby brother had been chased by a man-eating cyclops! He'd fought an _actual _cyclops! He'd punched a cyclops in the knee and _shattered_ it's kneecap! He'd been saved by a _centaur_ of all things!

Mike's mind couldn't handle it all at once. So it did the only thing it could do. It shut down and he passed out. But, as he did so, Mike felt that this would be the _least _weirdest day of his life from now on. He didn't know how he knew... but he just _knew_ it...

**Time Skip – Two Years Later**

Mike, now a light bronze-skinned young boy of eleven years of age, was walking through an old, dirt road that led into a forest, a large smile on his face and a handmade hat on his head as he carried a rather full-looking backpack. He was taller, stronger, faster, and better built than he'd been wen he'd first arrived at the destination he was currently heading back to. He'd also started going by Michael instead of Mike, though he still let those close to him get away with calling him Mike. He'd been extremely confused about everything that had been going on that day two years ago. He'd been confused, angry, and had wanted answers. When he first woke up, the first person he'd seen had been that guy, Luke Castellan, he'd introduced himself as, that he'd shoulder-thrown while trying to get free.

After Luke had managed to calm him down, the older boy had begun to explain everything in Chiron's absence. And what an unbelievable explanation had it been! The Greek gods were real, as were the monsters from Greek mythology, and Mike _himself_ was a demigod! When Luke had first explained it all to him, Mike had thought the older boy had been trying to fool him.

But, as soon as he'd walked out the door to the infirmary and seen the horse-guy again, along with freaking _winged, flying horses_ being up in the sky, Mike had started to come to a conclusion. Either all of this a _really_ elaborate prank set up by Bobby and Jackie, Luke had been telling the truth, or that he himself was either dreaming or had gone crazy. After checking over Chiron's "costume" and actually pulling on it, only to get kicked in the stomach, Mike had concluded that it wasn't a dream or an elaborate prank. That meant that either Luke had been telling the truth or he'd just gone crazy. Since he didn't want to believe he was crazy, Mike had decided to go with the former.

After he'd accepted the idea of being a demigod, Luke had given him the grand tour of his new home: Camp Half-Blood, the home and training ground of modern day Greek demigods. _After_ he'd gotten his backpack back, of course. After giving him a tour of the camp, Luke had taken Mike to where he'd be staying: The Hermes Cabin. Luke had explained that, as a cabin where children of Hermes, the patron god of _anyone_ who used the roads, were assigned, the Hermes Cabin was also where unclaimed demigods lived until they were claimed by their godly parent.

Because of this, Mike had ended up being in a crowded cabin with at least _dozens_ of other people. Not only that, but he had to guard his stuff, since children of Hermes seemed to inherit their dad's sticky fingers. He'd learned that lesson the hard way after his present from Bobby had nearly gotten stolen. Don't even ask how they nearly managed _that_ feat when he never took it off. Mike _himself_ didn't even have any idea how.

But, as time went on, he'd come to enjoy being in the Hermes Cabin. Sure, he had to be a _lot_ more careful about who he trusted when it came to his stuff, but he still had a lot of friends in that cabin. Not only that, but he'd become a _lot_ closer to Luke over the last couple of years. Whenever Chiron himself wasn't around or free when he or any of the other younger demigods others wanted to train, Luke would take it upon himself to teach them what he could if they hadn't already learned it from Chiron.

He saw Luke as just about everything that a camper should aspire to be. Just about everything that he thought a Greek hero should be like. He'd even been told that, if you looked at it from an outsider's point of view, you'd say that he and Luke were so close that it was like they were brothers. The memory brought a smile to his face as he felt himself itching to go one-on-one against Luke and see how far he'd come since he first showed up at Camp Half-Blood.

But, for some reason, Mike had noticed something off about Luke last time he'd been at camp. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Luke had just seemed more... distant, somehow. He'd be sure to try to confront to the head counselor of the Hermes Cabin about it when he saw him again as soon as he got back. Looking up, Michael was surprised to see that it was already getting dark out.

"What the heck...?" Mike wondered aloud. But he merely shrugged it off. "I must've taken longer than I thought when I took the scenic route after mom dropped me off." At this, he continued to make his way toward the entrance to the camp.

Eventually, the arch signifying the entrance to Camp Half-Blood was in his sights. Oh, how he missed the sight of that. Speaking of sights he missed, he spied a friend of his from the camp waiting for him right inside the archway, making him wonder how she knew he'd be there already. Then again, she _was_ a year-rounder _and _one of his closest friends at Camp Half-Blood. It only made sense that she'd know that he'd be back this soon.

She was a year older than him and obviously kept herself active, since she was in good shape. Her hair was a dark brown, so dark it could easily be mistaken for black, and her eyes were a leaf green. She was in her normal attire, which consisted of the orange shirt standard for campers, along with forest camouflage cargo pants, and with her weapons strapped on and a red headband worn. She had a slightly mischievous smile on her face as he ran up to great her. "'Bout time you finally showed up, tough-guy!"

Mike chuckled a little at that and gave a slight and playful, showy bow. "Apologies, milady! It appears I took much longer than expected to return." He looked up at her, an identical grin on his place. "I hope you didn't miss me too much, madam." 

She laughed a bit, amused by his antics. "Kind of hard to _not_ miss you! _Especially_ since it's not the same not having someone here who can rile up the Ares kids as much as you can."

Mike laughed lightly and stood up straight. "You got me there, Sammy! Sometimes, I wonder if everyone else here, including the Ares kids _themselves_, would go crazy if I weren't around to mess with old Blood-for-Brains' kids!"

The girl, now identified as Sammy, laughed out loud at his comment. Honestly, he enjoyed the banter between them, even if others would probably find it a little weird sometimes. Speaking of weird, when it came to the weird things about Samantha Beldent, or Sammy, as he liked to call her, there was one thing that took the cake. And that one thing was that she was the only demigod in the entire camp who didn't live in a cabin.

She had been there longer than he had been, and to be frank, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he had seen her even set foot in one. She chose to live out in the forest around camp in her tent, claiming that was where she felt most at peace. Campers were assigned cabins based on their godly parent. Once they were _claimed_ by the god, of course.

Those that hadn't been claimed usually stayed in the Hermes Cabin, since Hermes was the patron of all who used the roads. Thus making it the most crowded cabin in the camp, even if less than half the campers there were actually his children. Part of why no one made a fuss about Sammy living in the woods was it did save room in that cabin, and part of it was because her godly parent had yet to claim her. But, in all honesty, Mike loved that about her. She was one of his closest friends at Camp Half-Blood and, if there was _anything_ he appreciated, it was someone who liked roughing it.

Not only was she not afraid to rough it, but she was, in Mike's opinion, one hell of a warrior. In her own words, she had been fighting wolves before he even got to camp. To Mike, any god would be proud to claim her as their own. She was practically an epitome of what the campers were trained to be. She feared nothing and survived anything that had come her way. The fact that she was actually really pretty, at least in his opinion, and a fun person to be around certainly didn't hurt things, if you asked him.

Sammy looked at him as they walked into camp, a smile on her face. "Mike, you haven't changed a bit! You may be serious in a fight, but you can be _such_ a clown when you want to!"

Mike just grinned a bit cheekily at that. "Of course I am! It's one of my more endearing qualities!" She laughed a little more at that as they kept walking. Mike smiled at her as they walked. "It feels good to be home! Well, one of them, at least...!"

Sammy smiled. "Speak for yourself! This is the only home I know!" At this, they both smiled a little more as they walked.

As they walked, they told each other about what they'd been doing since the last time they'd seen each other. Sammy told Mike about how hard she'd been training, how many things had changed in the camp, and how many things had stayed the same. Meanwhile, Mike told her about the time he spent with his mom, little brother, and stepfather, going to Hawaii to see his _abuelo_ and _abuela_, as well as his aunts, uncles, and cousins that _didn't_ disown his mom after his dad knocked her up, and his grandpa taking him and Jackie up on a horse before taking them for a ride. He even told her about him teaching him how to better ride a horse and even teaching him a little about blacksmithing and helping him learn to make his own hat. While he was no son of Hephaestus when it came to being at the forge and no child of Athena when it came to weaving, he thoroughly enjoyed learning about them and thought they would come in handy someday.

"And then, when I got on the horse for the first time, I got it trotting around a bit. But then I accidentally kicked it in the leg. That thing got so spooked and angry that it started bucking like crazy until it threw me off! I went flying _straight_ into the stables and landed in some mud! Almost landed in some horse manure, too!" Mike told her animatedly, even using his arms and hands to give a visual effect.

Sammy laughed at that part of the story. She was bent over, laughing and holding her stomach. "Oh my _gods_, Mike! That is _so_ funny!"

Finally, they reached the Big House. Mike smiled a bit sadly and chuckled before looking at Sammy. "Well, this is my stop. I've gotta talk to Chiron before going to find Luke. Is Chiron in right now?"

Sammy shrugged. "He should be." Sammy smiled and gave him a quick hug before turning to leave. "See you later, Mike!" She then began to leave for her campsite as he started going into the Big House.

But she stopped for a brief moment and turned back towards him. "Oh, and Mike!" Mike turned back to face her. He saw the large smile on her face and couldn't help but return it. "Welcome back!" At this, he gave her a two-fingered salute with the first two fingers of his right hand and headed into the Big House, with her heading back to her campsite.

Taking a deep breath, Mike turned stepped back away the Big House and admired it for a moment before heading back in. A light smile came to his face as he recalled getting tutored by a certain year-round camper who was also a daughter of Athena. Watching Chiron and Mr. D play pinochle, with Mr. D losing each time and Mike struggling to hold in his laughter at the god's defeat. Shaking away the memories, Mike walked up the steps and headed into the Big House, heading towards Chiron's office.

Mike admired the decor of the Big House for the first time in months as he headed to Chiron's office. He could see why Chiron liked living in it. Not only was his office located in it, but it was really nice, too. Finally, he made it to an all-too-familiar door and smiled before knocking. He thought he'd heard something before he'd knocked and didn't want to interrupt, but he needed to know where Luke was badly. Soon, he heard someone call out to him. "Come in! It's open!"

Mike opened the door and smiled at his half-man, half-horse trainer. "Long time no see, Chiron! Miss me?"

Chiron, his horse lower body not hidden by his fake wheelchair, smiled at Mike. "Michael! So good to have you back at camp! I trust your mother, stepfather, and younger brother are doing well?"

Mike's smile grew as he stepped into the office and nodded. "It's to be expected, considering the favor you and her called in to keep them safe." Mike looked and saw that Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and his former tutor, was also in the room. He gave the blond-haired child of the Goddess of Wisdom a tilt of the head in acknowledgment. "'Sup, Chase?"

Annabeth smiled lightly and nodded her acknowledgment. "Good to see you again too, Michael."

Mike turned back to Chiron. His face turned a bit serious for a fraction of a moment before it was replaced with a smile. "You seen Luke anywhere, Chiron? I've gotta talk to him and _really_ wanna go one-on-one against him again."

If Chiron noticed the brief change, he didn't show it or point it out, something that Mike was glad for. Chiron nodded in response to Mike's question. "Yes. He's training some of the newer campers while I'm discussing something with Annabeth. Go ahead and go see him. And feel free to help out, as well."

Mike smiled a bit. "Thanks, Chiron! See ya'!" Mike turned to look at Annabeth. "Later, Chase!" He then shut the door behind him as he left to talk to Luke.

Mike's expression turned serious as soon as he shut the door. Then, his goal in mind, Mike headed towards the spot where he knew Luke would be training the newer recruits. He then set out to go talk to Luke, even thinking of helping out with the new campers if he ended up feeling like it. If he decided to, then those poor new kids wouldn't know what hit them.

Eventually, he made it to the training area in time to see Luke disarming a younger opponent, a number of clearly green fellow demigods watching the exchange. He then saw Luke help the younger demigod up and smiled. 'Same old Luke.' He waved in their direction as he called out to his senior camper. "Yo, Luke!"

Luke had been handing the younger combatant back her sword and turned to look at where the voice came from. A smile crossed his face as he recognized the source of the voice. "Mike! Long time no see!"

Mike jogged up to Luke as Luke greeted him with a bro-hug. They pulled apart soon and exchanged friendly arm-grip handshake. "What up, son of Hermes! Miss me?"

Luke's smile faltered for a moment at the mention of his father as he released the hold. But it didn't last as the smile soon regain it's full length. "I sure did! Missed using you as a punching bag, that is!"

Mike gave Luke a friendly punch on the arm at the crack. "Shut up, Messenger-Boy!" He then looked at the new kids, ages ranging from nine to thirteen, maybe older. "'Sup! I'm Michael Morales Maverick! Unclaimed for now, but hoping to change that in the near future!"

The other campers were surprised to hear a boy only around their age be so casual about it. One of the older members of the group stepped up. "Yeah, right! I bet I'll get claimed _long_ before a shrimp like you!"

Mike frowned a moment, but smiled a bit at the idea of getting to put somebody with a big mouth in their place. "Oh really now?" The less experienced demigod nodded, absolutely confident in himself. Mike's smile grew a bit sadistic at that. "Then let's see what you're made of, Mr. Big-Mouth!"

Luke picked up another sword and tossed it to Mike before backing up a bit. Mike caught it out of the air as it got close, then gave it a few test swings and a quick spin. Mike then grinned as the other new camper handed the boy her weapon and got out of range, then got ready for some fun. "Ready?"

The less experienced demigod nodded, what passed for a fierce look on his face as Mike's smile grew. Mike then made the 'come-get-some' hand motion. The boy before him seemed to get a bit angry at being disregarded and charged right at Mike. Mike dodged the initial swipe and got behind the boy before hitting him in the back with the pommel of his sword, loosing a grunt from the less experienced camper. "Too slow!"

The boy turned and swung at Mike. Mike merely blocked the strike and batted the other combatant's sword away. "Too obvious!" He then attempted multiple rapid and angry attempts at striking Mike. But Mike just dodged some and used his sword to easily deflect the rest. "Too angry!"

The young man got even angrier and attempted to strike harder and faster. Mike merely dodged his strikes with ease, letting his opponent tire himself out. Mike could tell from the other boy's stance that he'd never really held a weapon before arriving at Camp Half-Blood. His grip on his sword wasn't tight enough, he was swinging too wildly, and he kept going for obvious hits. Mike blocked his strike and knocked his sword arm back, nearly disarming the boy in the process. "Too sloppy!" Finally, Mike decided to finish it.

He used his own blade to disarm the less experienced camper of his own sword, causing it to stick into the ground by the blade, and kicked the back of his knee in the process. This caused the boy to cry out as his knee hit the ground. Mike then knocked his less experienced adversary down with a foot on his chest, used his foot to pin him down, and grabbed the other sword in his free hand. To finish it, he put them to the other competitor's neck in a scissor formation, a grin on his face. "Aaaand, _make, mi amigo!"_

The others, except Luke, all were all looking at Mike with confused and shocked expressions while the other demigod that Mike had beaten had an expression of fear mixed with awe and confusion. The other kid was about a head and a half taller than Mike and had at least _twenty pounds_ on him! But he evaded his strikes and took him down like it was nothing! But what had them confused was what he said at the end.

One raised his hand. "What's that mean?"

Mike just chuckled a bit. "It's a mix of Hawaiian and Spanish. The Hawaiian word _make_ means "dead" and is spelled like the English word "make", but is pronounced "mah-kay". And the Spanish words _mi amigo_ mean "my friend."" The confused newcomers all let out understanding "ohhhhhh"'s and "ahhhhhhh"'s. Mike then smiled a bit and basked in their surprise and understanding before tossing his opponents sword into the dirt next to them, the sword sticking into the ground by the blade. He then held out his hand, offering to help the other boy up.

The other demigod nervously accepted the offer with Mike helping him to his feet. Luke then turned to face the others. "I hope you were all watching that! Remember: Victory is _never_ assured in our world, no matter _who_ you're up against! If you underestimate your opponent and/or overestimate yourself, you could end up dead!"

Mike then turned to Luke and tossed him the sword he was holding. Luke caught it with ease and smiled proudly. "You've gotten better, Mike! You been practicing while you've been gone?"

Mike chuckled a bit. "Of course I have!" Mike's expression then turned more serious. "Luke, can we talk for a second?"

Luke gained a confused look on his face. "Can it wait? I've gotta give all these newer kids a rundown of the basics by dinner. We can talk then, if you want."

Mike gave it a moment of thought. "I suppose it can wait. But not at dinner. I wanna talk to you alone later, dude."

Luke nodded in acceptance. "Can do, pal!" A secretive smile crossed Luke's face. "Speaking of friends, another friend of yours just got back not too long ago. In fact, I think I see him coming over to greet you."

Mike looked confused for a second before an expectant and excited smile came to his face. "No way! Do you mean-" Mike was cut off as a neighing was heard. Looking towards the tree-hidden horizon, Mike's smile grew. Flying his way, he saw a black-colored pegasus, a winged horse, with white "socks" – stocking-like coloring running from a certain point on the lower part of it's legs to the top of its hooves – and black wings with white feathers near the edges, as well as a white diamond-like marking in the center of its forehead.

The horse slowed as it descended, but still knocked Mike to the ground before it began to nudge and lick him as it stayed standing while it's wings folded at its side. Mike laughed and tried to hold the pegasus back as it licked at him. "O-okay, Ace! I-I missed you, too! N-now let me up!"

The pegasus, now identified as Ace, did as he said and backed up, letting out a horsey grunt and a snort. Mike took a quick look at his pegasus, who had decided to travel the world a little while Mike was gone from camp until the next summer. As soon as Mike got up, it nudged him again. A smile on his face, he hugged the winged horse and patted him. "I missed you too, buddy...!"

Mike pulled away and got a good look at the look in his equine friend's eyes. A smile tugged at his face as he quickly deciphered what that look meant. That look meant that Ace wanted to go for a fly so that they could catch up. Mike may have hated flying in those stupid, screaming metal death-traps called planes, but he never got tired of flying with Ace. At least then he knew who was flying and never had to worry about hijackings or falling to his death with no one to catch him.

Ace bowed his head a bit as Mike walked up to his side. Mike then quickly mounted and made sure he was safely on. Once he was, he gave Ace a pat on the side and got ready. "All set, bud! Let's fly!" As soon as Mike said this, Ace spread his wings and the two of them took off.

Mike reveled in the familiar rush of flying with Ace. It always gave him an excited rush, soaring through the air on his pegasus. The only thing he could compare it to besides being on a horse was riding or driving in a fast-moving convertible with the top down, only with the ground much farther away. Not only that, but the speed and height provided an adrenaline rush without the fear of being in a plane crash because of engine problems or some kind of monster being on the wings, on the plane itself, or _inside_ the plane.

Eventually, he noticed that it was dark and looked over the horizon. His eyes widened as he noticed that the sun had already set and the moon was high up in the sky. He cursed under his breath in Spanish. "Either Apollo and Artemis were driving the sun and moon chariots too fast today or we've been up here for _hours_...!" Hearing Ace grunt in agreement, Mike just sighed and smiled. "Oh well... it was worth it!"

Ace gave what passed for the horse equivalent of a smile and nodded in agreement. After realizing how late it must be, Mike had Ace turn around and they both headed back. But, as they headed back, Mike thought he saw something strange going on in the direction of Thalia Grace's Pine Tree. "What the heck...? Hey, Ace! Head towards Grace's Pine Tree for a sec!"

With an upward turn of the head in acknowledgment at the order, Ace turned and sped off towards the pine tree that marked the camp's border. As they got closer, Mike saw an older woman and two boys that appeared to be around his age, one with brown hair, half-goat from the waist down, and having a beard and the other with black hair. At least, he was pretty sure the two boys were were both his age, since it was hard to tell with the satyr.

The three were heading toward the tree and were being chased by a large creature of some kind, the woman and other boy carrying the bearded goat-boy to help him escape. As he looked more carefully, the light of the moon revealed to him that the creature was half-man and half-bull. Mike's eyes widened as he realized what it was. "The Minotaur...! Ace, set down by the tree! Quick!"

Ace nodded and did as Mike commanded. Mike then jumped off of Ace's back and pulled out a ruler from his backpack, then held it like a sword. Immediately after he did so, the ruler was replaced by a glowing, yellowish-bronze sword, the blade longer than his arm. Mike then swung the blade to test how it felt in his hands after not using it for over a week, then nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Ace. "Go get Chiron or Luke! This spells bad news, bud!"

Ace glared at Mike and grunted his dissatisfaction before stomping his hoof. Mike frowned and narrowed his eyes at his equine friend. "We don't have time for this, Ace! They need to know about this!"

Ace appeared to want to argue, but one look from Mike made the monochromatic pegasus stop. He dipped his head down in resignation before nodding and taking off to warn either the head counselor or the activities director. Mike then turned and ran towards the two boys and the woman. Eventually, he neared the boys, the conscious one among them seeming to be in disagreement with the woman about something. When the Minotaur reached her, it picked her up like it was going to beat the ground with her, and the darker-haired boy called out 'Mom' in a panic.

Then all of a sudden the woman disappeared in a golden shower of light. 'What was that?' Mike asked himself, sensing a sort of divine intervention at work here, but not sure why or by which god.

No time to think about it, Mike jumped in front of the other boy to keep him from trying to rush the Minotaur and stood to guard them both. One of the other boy looked at him in shock, a questioning look in his sea-foam green eyes. "Who're yo-?"

"No time to talk, newbie!" Mike cut him off without looking back to face him. "Just get past the pine tree up ahead and you'll be safe! I'll try to hold old Horn-Head off long enough for you to get there!" He was lucky that the light from the golden shower hurt the eyes of 'Old Horn-Head' enough to make the creature lose their scent.

The other boy glared at him. "No way! That thing needs to pay for what it-"

Mike faced the other boy, glaring at him. "This is no time to argue, ya' stubborn idiot! That's the freaking Minotaur over there, in case you haven't figured it out! Just go, help's on the way!" At this, Mike ran to meet the half-bull monster.

He leaped and swung his sword at it once he was within range. But he underestimated the Minotaur's reaction speed. The beast didn't have great hearing but Mike wasn't exactly trying to be stealthy so it heard it clear as day. It thrust out one of its over-muscled arms and knocked him aside with a backhand. The breath was knocked out of Mike by the impact and he was sent flying into the dirt, losing his sword in the process.

The impact jarred a memory Mike had, some advice Luke gave the newer campers several hours ago and himself years before. He cursed under his breath in Spanish for forgetting this, especially since it had just been retold to a group of people with him there. 'I underestimated its speed, overestimated my own, and let my guard down!'

While he berated himself, he saw the Minotaur take interest in a new target, the satyr that must have been bringing the other boy to camp. The satyr couldn't do anything but distract the beast, and Mike suspected he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the demigod. This stirred the other boy into taking action again, first by taking off a red jacket and using it like a matador cape while shouting out to the bull-man.

'Not bad newbie, but you can't beat one of the most famous monsters with just a jacket.' Mike thought, shakily getting to his feet and holding his injured torso.

The faux matador job seemed to do exactly what it was supposed to, so the Minotaur charged. And, in an act of pure half-blood courage, the other boy jumped and used the head of the monster to get over it, land on its back, and grab one of the horns. From what Mike could see, it looked like this guy was trying to break off a horn by hand.

'You've got spunk, rookie. But you could still use my help.' Mike thought, running to the Minotaur and tackling it from the blind spot. The impact barely made the monster flinch, but it did get its attention. It turned, swinging a fist and hitting Mike, but he was prepared and rolled to avoid taking the brunt of it. Still, it hurt.

Smirking at the hulking beast with a bit of blood leaking down from his lip, Mike refused to show any kind of weakness to this thing and got back up. His eyes quickly darted to where his sword was and tried to judge the distance before facing the Minotaur again. "I... is that all you got...?! My _abuela_ hits harder than that, and she's over sixty!"

The Minotaur let out an angered, bull-like grunt and pawed the ground with its hooves, swinging around, trying to get rid of its unwanted passenger. It then ran and charged at Mike, determined to mow him down. Mike leaped aside, causing the Minotaur to run past him and towards the trees, wincing as he aggravated his injuries.

The beast barely managed to turn itself and glare back at Mike, while the other boy had fallen off with something in his hands. Mike looked at the monster and saw it now was missing a piece of one horn, which made him smirk. "Ole!"

It glared and rushed at him again. Mike just dove to the side again, this time managing to get closer to his sword. Unfortunately, the Minotaur turned again and ran straight at him. His sword was still too far away and, at the rate the Minotaur was running, it would reach him before he could get to his weapon. Seeing no other choice, Mike got to his feet and braced himself while taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Alright... time to take this bull by the horns... again!"

The Minotaur came barreling down the grassy area towards him like a locomotive, soon coming into range and ready to run him over. Acting quickly, Mike grabbed it by the horns, then dug his heels into the ground as he tried to slow it down. Eventually, they neared his sword as he began to reach the limit of his ability to hold it back. He then pushed hard on it and reached down to quickly pick up his sword. He stood up straight and swung his sword out at it in a downward motion as it swung at him with an open-handed smack.

Luckily for the Minotaur, Mike's strike was a fraction of a second too slow because of the pain he was in. The blade of his sword cut off its other horn, sending the horn flying, before cutting into its torso, far too shallowly to kill it. As this happened, its hand impacted with his head while the Minotaur roared in annoyance and rage at Mike's small accomplishment. Mike was knocked for a loop and sent flying into a tree, hitting it back-first as he dropped his sword beside him from the impact against the tree. His vision blurry, Mike heard someone yelling and saw a blurry figure rush at the Minotaur as another figure was knocked unconscious by the Minotaur.

The Minotaur charged back and the figure dodged it. The Minotaur's one-horned head hit the trunk of a tree that it hit when the first figure dodged it while the remains of it's other horn were destroyed. It practically nearly snapped the tree in half from the impact before turning to face its opponent. It then rushed at the figure again, blind to its surroundings in its fury, only to be dodged again. The figure then attempted to stab the Minotaur with a piece of its own horn, only for the beast to knock him away.

The Minotaur then turned and made it's way to the downed Mike, obviously hoping to settle the score with him first. Mike felt fear for a moment as the Minotaur loomed over him, but it turned to confidence as he saw the other figure get up and make its way towards him. He grinned weakly up at the Minotaur, causing it to be confused at his expression. "Hey, Meat-Head...! Look behind you...!"

The Minotaur seemed angry at the insult, but did as Mike suggested. As it did this, Mike reached for his sword while marveling at just _how_ stupid the bull-man hybrid _truly_ was. As soon as it saw the other figure, it made to run at it. But, before it could, Mike swung his sword as hard as he could, cutting through its bull-like ankle, severing the tendons and bringing it to it's knees. The angry beast, in pain, looked back at Mike as the other figure came up behind it.

Mike only chuckled and said the last words the beast would hear before its defeat. "You lose...!" At this, the other figure stabbed the Minotaur in the chest with it's own horn, piercing it's heart. Defeated, the Minotaur let out a death rattle before crumbling to dust.

The figure then walked up to where the other figure was and picked him up before coming back to Mike. The figure then grabbed Mike and started to drag him towards camp while carrying the other figure, whom Mike recognized as the satyr. Eventually, they crossed the border and Mike started losing consciousness. As he lost consciousness, Mike was hoping that, whoever this rookie was, he wouldn't tell anyone else about how much trouble Mike, a more experienced demigod, had had with the Minotaur while fighting alongside a beginner...

_**To Be Continued...**_

**I think my dementia is gone now after working on that.**

_**I am still the same.**_

**And I'm hoping that _this_ one is a hit.**

_**Hope goes to die in my head remember?**_

**But not in mine or phantom's.**

**Well there are readers who enjoy a crazy Naruto.**

**True. Speaking of which... nah, too easy.**

_**World of difference between crazy and depressed.**_

**Point taken. Well, see ya, readers! This'll be another fic I'll be focusing on, so expect more! Peace and shaka from Oahu!**

_**I am crazy though. Aidos from Las Vegas.**_

**How many times do I need to tell you only listen to two of the voices in your head? The other five are crazy. Seeya from Idaho.**


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